When you begin your medical practice there are a few things to consider. Having the right staff is as important to your business as your medical knowledge. Your staff is the one that reaches your clients first. If you have a staff that is not so friendly, you may find that your business suffers. If they are not available to your patients, the patients may also decide to leave to go to another office. A medical answering service can help offset problems with answering the phone. The human friendly touch is much better when dealing with patients. It just feels better to speak with someone who appears to be carrying enough to take your information down for their doctor.
When a patient calls, they really need for something to happen. They are not calling to shoot the breeze or to talk about the latest baseball game. They are ill and they are in need of medical attention. If they find abrasive staff, they may not ever call you again. In addition, if they call during off hours or during the lunch hour and they get a voice mail, they may not follow up. A medical answering service will allow the patients to speak with a live person.
There is nothing worse than trying to reach your doctor’s office and get a touch tone service. As soon as you begin the “press one to talk to” verbiage, you will get a few people that hang up the phone. Even if they cannot talk to you right now, they understand that. They do want to speak with someone. It feels better when an actually person it taking your message versus a recording. For whatever reason we believe that the likelihood of getting a return call is better if we speak to a human. Voice mails can be erased or not listened to at all. A medical answering service will feel like a part of your team. They are a great addition to any staff.
Once you decide to try out a medical answering service, you will see the changes. You may have heard complaints from patients when they see you but that is gone now. They will be pleased with having someone to talk to. They know they will not receive medical advice through the medical answering service and that’s ok. A warm voice on the other end of the phone can be soothing when you are ill. It is much more soothing than an answering machine beep.
